Elian interview sparks Miami row
Relatives in Florida of the shipwrecked Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez have criticised an interview with him to be shown on US television on Sunday.
Cubans celebrated when Elian was returned to his father
In excerpts from the CBS network's 60 Minutes show Elian, now 11, calls Cuban leader Fidel Castro his friend.
He also accuses his family in Miami of trying to turn him against his father during a custody battle in 2000 which culminated in his return to Cuba.
A spokesman for the Florida relatives said Elian had been brainwashed.
Elian turned six soon after he was discovered floating alone in the Florida Straits, tied to an inner tube, in November 1999.
His mother and 10 others had drowned trying to make the crossing from Cuba to Florida.
Castro 'my friend'
Elian's Miami relatives and Cuban exile groups lost a fierce legal battle to keep him in the US. He was finally seized by armed US immigration officers and reunited with his father.
In the interview, Elian said Mr Castro had attended his elementary school graduation and told the boy he was his friend.
"I also believe I am his friend," Elian said. He considers Mr Castro "not only as a friend but as a father".
Elian was seized from his Miami relatives' home in an armed raid
He said his Miami relatives, with whom he spent five months, had tried to persuade him to stay.
"They were telling me bad things about [my father]," Elian is quoted by CBS as saying. "They were also telling me to tell [my father] that I did not want to go back to Cuba and I always told them I wanted to."
He said he would like to see his relatives in Miami again, however, adding: "Despite everything they did - the way they did it, it was wrong - they are my family."
Elian's aunt, Angela Gonzalez, told the Associated Press news agency she doubted whether the interview represented his true beliefs because of the controls imposed by Cuba on information.
Family members in Florida had been prevented from having any contact with Elian since he returned to Cuba, she said, but he "is always on our minds".
A spokesman for the relatives, Armando Gutierrez, said Elian had been brainwashed by the Cuban regime.
CBS said they had spoken to the boy, who is considered a hero in Cuba, in his hometown of Cardenas. His father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, was present but there were no Cuban officials, the network said.
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TheRealCuba.com posted this rebuttle to and rebuke of the communist sympathizers in the western press.
The Real Cuba:
- 200,000 deaths and 2,000,000 exiles!
- 46 years without human rights!
- 46 years without a free election!
- 46 years without a free press!
- 46 years of oppression!
- 46 years with a ration book!
- The exploitation of the Cuban workers!
Elian Gonzalez
CBS News Anchorman Dan Rather shows his affection for communist dictator and mass murderer Fidel Castro by smiling as he holds Castro.
An indoctrinated Elian to appear on CBS' 60 Minutes on Sunday
After five years of indoctrination, Fidel Castro feels confident enough to allow his friends at CBS news to go to Cuba and interview Elian Gonzalez. As expected, Elian who is now 11 years old and has been receiving a full dose of Castro's indoctrination for five years, calls Fidel Castro not only his 'friend' but also his 'father.'
I remember at the beginning of Castro's 'rob-olution' when his regime wanted to end all vestiges of religion in Cuba, that Cuban children were asked by their teachers: "Close your eyes and ask the Three Magic Kings for toys." After a few seconds they were told to open their eyes and, as expected, there were no toys to be found. Then the teachers would say: "Close your eyes and ask Santa Claus for toys." Still no toys. And finally "Now, close your eyes and ask Fidel for toys." And a few seconds later, when they were told to open their eyes, the children would find bags full of toys. "You see," the teachers would say, "Santa Claus and the Three Magic Kings don't exist. Only Fidel is for real."
And now CBS goes to Cuba to interview Elian after five years of this 24/7 indoctrination to supposedly interview Elian, with his biological father sitting next to him and his other 'father' watching and hearing everything that he says to make sure that he follows the script. And the worst part is that CBS calls this interview: "Elian Gonzalez in his own words." How can anyone in Cuba speak in their own words? Those who have dared to do so are in jail or in the cemetery. But what else could you expect from CBS' 60 Minutes, the same program that was willing to broadcast forged documents in an effort to influence the results of the last presidential election?
If you want to see how 60 Minutes and other main street media programs stage their 'news,' click at the link below. You must watch this video! It is long, about 18 minutes, but it is worth watching if you want to understand how the news that you see on TV are doctored in order to promote a particular agenda:
http://seconddraft.org/streaming/pallywood.wmv
The Cuban children, second class citizens in their own country!
